Union workers at the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center are disappointed Butler County doesn’t want to go back to the bargaining table to avoid privatization.

Sunnyview maintenance worker Terry Penrod, who was speaking on behalf of SEIU Healthcare, said it’s not too late to reach a deal that keeps Sunnyview county-owned.

“We still want to negotiate in good faith,” Penrod said.

County Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, said that won’t happen because union workers last week rejected the concessions.

“We said this is a final offer,” McCarrier said.

He said the nursing home loses too much money each year to keep it county-owned.

Sunnyview, which is off Morton Avenue in Butler Township, is budgeted to lose $1.5 million this year. However, $450,000 of that deficit is for a balloon payment on a 30-year bond.

The nursing home lost more than $800,000 in 2012.

Although Sunnyview officials project a more than $1 million deficit for 2014, $205,000 of that amount is listed under building depreciation.

Consequently, the county would subsidize $838,452 of a total $20 million budget.

Along with depreciation, the county charges Sunnyview for the services of its personnel department, controller’s office and commissioners’ staff.

The county commissioners on Wednesday will consider hiring a Chicago firm to market Sunnyview for sale.

McCarrier pointed out the offer rejected in a 134-to-5 vote was not what the county originally sought.

“We were at the table with them for five or six months,” he said.

The county was negotiating with the union to reopen a four-year contract that ends in December 2014 and includes 3 percent pay hikes each year.

Along with a wage freeze for 2014, the concessions included an increase in employee contributions to cover a portion of their health care costs. The current 1.5 percent paycheck deduction would have been replaced by 15 percent of the insurance premium.

Penrod said he didn’t know the exact difference, but it was significant.

“It would have been a decent chunk of change,” he said.

However, Penrod said workers were willing to accept the wage and health care concessions.

“We would have been OK with that,” he said.

Penrod said other items, such as reducing the number of sick and vacation days, went too far.

“The nursing staff informed me their schedule is designed to work around the shortfalls of holidays and vacations,” he said.

Penrod said another problem was eliminating workers’ option to work overtime when another employee calls off, which nullifies their seniority.

He cited an additional issue being the denial of insurance coverage of employee spouses when the spouses’ employers provide it.

Penrod stressed there are other ways to help shrink the deficit.

“We’re more than willing to work with them,” he said. “It’s about putting our heads together.”

McCarrier and Commissioner Dale Pinkerton decided to investigate the marketability of Sunnyview after the concessions were voted down.

The commissioners on Monday set the agenda for the voting meeting Wednesday, including the hiring of Marcus & Millichap for a possible vote.

Commissioner Jim Eckstein, who supports keeping Sunnyview county-owned, said the concessions were too severe.

Eckstein pointed out the county initially tried to switch from the current 1.5 percent paycheck deduction to 40 percent of the insurance premium.

Referring to an interview McCarrier gave on Friday, Eckstein accused McCarrier of calling him a name.

“Now, I’m a fearmonger,” Eckstein said.

McCarrier explained he was referring to people who have been claiming residents will lose their homes and employees will lose their jobs if Sunnyview is sold.

Eckstein said it would be naive to believe some workers wouldn’t be cut by a private firm.

However, he conceded residents would not lose their homes.

Eckstein said in an interview he is concerned about people not being able to gain admission to Sunnyview after it’s privatized.

“I’m worried about the long term,” he said.

Penrod agreed a privately owned Sunnyview would likely have more stringent admissions, affecting who could stay there

“That’s what could happen,” he said.

He said no one affiliated with the 200-bed nursing home is trying to instill fear.

“We’re not trying to fearmonger anybody,” Penrod said.

He said Sunnyview has been the last resort for people who were denied admission elsewhere.

Penrod said residents also would be adversely affected.

“Care will go downhill,” he said.

During the meeting, Eckstein said he didn’t have time to research whether people lost their jobs or residents were impacted when other counties sold their nursing homes.

He blamed the “pension grab” of 2004, when the county retirement board increased the amount paid to retirees, as the cause of Sunnyview’s deficit.

Although a subsequent board lowered the pension for new hires, current employee pensions could not be decreased under state law.

Eckstein pointed out the county won’t clear the entire sale price if Sunnyview is sold because the underfunded pension fund would need an infusion of $6 million to $7 million for new retirees.